Welcome to the Tuesday Boil!
Welcome to the Tuesday Crawfish Boil.
If the Astros are going to be the six seed. They’re going to have to fight through the Minnesota Twins to get to the Texas Rangers. If the Rangers flop just a little, and Houston passes them into the two seed, then Texas will have to fight through Minnesota to play Houston.
Also, looking into some stats this morning I realized that despite an OPS 152 points lower than last season, Jose Abreu has already outhomered and outRBI’d his 2022 season. 17-84 to 15-75. Now, onto the links.
Houston Astros News
Injuries & Moves: Brantley available off the bench
Vintage Verlander leads Astros past Mariners
Astros 2023: Is it time for the white flag? (chipalatta)
6 Astros players whose struggles in September have hurt the team’s playoff chances (CTH)
Astros insider: An early swing ‘huge’ in critical win over Mariners (Houston Chronicle)
The Astros finally gave a starter some breathing room. Justin Verlander did the rest (The Athletic)
Toronto Blue Jays Poised to Clinch Wild-Card Spot, Houston Astros Extend Lead in Race (BVM Sports)
Same as it ever was, Mariners lose to Astros 5-1 (Lookout Landing)
Playoff picture: Astros approach magic number after pummeling Mariners (Beaumont Enterprise)
AL West News
After quick reflection on ‘23, Trout discusses his future
Angels bring home losing streak into matchup with the Rangers (El Paso Inc.)
Rangers hit 3 straight homers, run win streak to 6 games (ESPN)
Rangers inch closer to playoffs behind back-to-back-to-back HRs
Twins face abysmal A’s in final regular-season series at Target Field (Star Tribune)
Last Oakland A’s home game of the season was a mix of melancholy and joy (The Oaklandside)
Oakland-MLB Relationship Devolves Into Next-Level Toxicity (Front Office Sports)
MLB News
The Phils’ secret playoff weapon is here … and his stuff is scary
Postseason Watch: Bracket, tiebreakers and more
‘Thank you, Tito’: Francona leaves lasting mark ahead of retirement
What’s at stake in the final week of the season
In a season of firsts, these are the 10 most bonkers stats
Strap in, because it’s going to be a wild Tuesday around MLB
Houston Astros Birthdays
C Rich Gedman (64) caught 11 seasons with the Boston Red Sox before joining the Astros for the second half of the 1990 campaign. He appeared in 40 games for Houston, and hit .202 with a home run and 10 RBI.
LHP Bobby Shantz (98) began his major league career in 1949 with the Philadelphia Athletics, and led the American League in 1952 with 24 victories. In 1957, he led the majors with a 2.45 ERA while pitching for the New York Yankees. A three-time All-Star, Shantz began the 1962 season with the Houston Colt .45s, and pitched a complete game victory in Houston’s first-ever major league contest, an 11-2 victory against the Chicago Cubs on April 10. His stay with Houston was very short. lasting only three starts. Houston traded Shantz to the St. Louis Cardinals on May 7 for Josh Anderson and Carl Warwick. He was 1-1 with a 1.31 ERA over 20 2⁄3 innings for Houston, striking out 14.